


Baby Fever

by maggs689



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Going Through It, M/M, So Married, married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22110049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maggs689/pseuds/maggs689
Summary: Can a relationship survive when one partner wants a baby more than anything and the other still isn't sure?
Relationships: Mark Scheifele/Blake Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Baby Fever

“I should call them,” Blake says as he walks through the front door, Mark hot on his heels.

“It’s 2am,” Mark cautions, locking the door behind them. 

“I know,” Blake grumbles. He flings his coat on the couch and heads for the stairs. “Still, I worry. Patrik was really drunk.”

“You’re not his dad,” Mark calls up after him. “I know you think they're you're kids, but you don't have kids," he says, a little louder than he should. He walks up the stairs. When he enters the bedroom, Blake is standing with his shirt open and a thunderous expression on his face.

“I _know_ I don't have kids!” Blake shouts. “Maybe if we had a baby I wouldn’t _have_ to be a dad to everyone all the time.”

“Oh god, not this again,” Mark flops down on his back on the bed and puts his hands over his face. “It’s 2 am! How many times are we going to have this argument?”

“Until you understand how important having a family is to me!” Blake shrieks, his face turning red.

Mark takes a deep breath and sits up. “I understand it’s important,” Mark starts, trying to keep his voice even, “but I’m only 26 and I can’t-”

“And I’m 33 and I want to be a dad before I’m too old to run after my kids!” Blake interrupts. 

“Our schedules are so-” Mark begins, shaking his head in disbelief that they’re having the argument for what feels like the hundredth time.

“I’m not going to play forever!” Blake interrupts again. “You're so fucking selfish! I can’t even look at you right now.” Blake grabs the end of the comforter and starts dragging it off the bed.

“Hey, come on,” Mark protests as Blake drags the comforter out from underneath him and pulls it completely off the bed. "Stop overreacting."

“I’m sleeping in the guest room,” Blake huffs and drags the comforter out the bedroom door behind him. 

Mark flops back on the bed in disgust. From down the hall, Blake slams the guest room door shut. 

After a minute, Mark hears Blake open the door, shout “I’m sleeping in the guest room!” and slam the door again.

Mark turns to look at the framed wedding photo on the bedside table - the black and white picture of him and Blake in their tuxes on the beach in Turks and Caicos. The frame is inscribed with the date August 13, 2016 and the word _forever_. 

Mark flips the picture face down on the table. So much for forever.

***

Adam skates up to him the next day. "You look like shit," he says, not looking at Mark. He's looking at Blake, who's working on wrap-around goals with Helle, furiously batting the puck at him over and over. "Are mom and dad fighting?"

"Shut up," Mark says but there's no heat behind it. He's exhausted from sleeping alone without the warm comforter while Blake camped out in the guest room with two comforters. 

"Wanna talk about it?" Adam says, turning to him. "I'm not married so I don't get this," he gestures between Mark and Blake, "but I can listen."

Mark shakes his head no. "It's just family stuff," he says after a minute. "It's been an issue for a while but now- I don't know," he concludes with a shrug. 

Adam claps him on the shoulder. "You love him. You guys will figure it out," and then he skates away. 

Mark stands there, feeling helpless, while Blake continues to rain pucks on the net at a furious pace. Mark knows that once Blake sets his mind set on something - playing in the NHL, winning the heart of the Jets first franchise draft pick, having a baby - he pursues it relentlessly. But Mark is scared, unsure if he's ready to be a father even though he knows Blake is ready enough for both of them. 

He's gone over this so many times, alone late at night and in shouting matches with Blake, but every time he comes back to this: Does he love Blake enough to give him the baby he dreams of, even though Mark's dream is still winning a Stanley Cup? That used to be Blake's dream too but at some point over the last few years Blake moved on and left Mark here, alone and in limbo. 

When Mark looks up, Blake is standing in front of the empty goal, staring at him. Blake shakes his head and skates away.

***

Blake won't sit next to him on the plane. He rooms with Jake in Denver. He's not in the breakfast room at the hotel and he won't look at Mark during the national anthem, even though they've always shared a smile when their fans shout "true north" during _O Canada_. 

At home, it's worse, like Blake is a ghost moving though the empty spaces around Mark but not touching him. It's like their entire relationship isn't real anymore and all Mark is left with is his memories, the house they built, the home they once shared.

Late at night, Mark can hear Blake awake but he's too scared to go out and talk to him. He wouldn't know what to say anyway.

***

A week later, the bedroom door creaks open at 1 am. Mark is on his side with his eyes open, so far away from sleep that it might as well be the middle of the day. 

He lies perfectly still as Blake pads into the room. Mark feels the bed dip behind him - he's still sleeping on the left side of the bed even though he's alone - and Blake slides in behind him. 

"I'm not here," Blake says quietly, wrapping his arm around Mark's waist and pulling Mark against him. "Not here," he whispers into Mark's neck.

Mark holds his breath, waiting to see what's going to happen, if Blake is going to want to fight all over again. Instead, Blake presses close, his body warm all along Mark's back, his hand roaming over Mark's chest. 

It's quiet and Mark feels sleepy for the first time in a week as Blake slides his hand into Mark's pajama pants. He closes his eyes and lets the soft pressure of Blake's touch wash over him, not opening his eyes when Blake slides his pants down and presses his hard cock against the cleft of Mark's ass. 

Blake moves Mark's right leg to hook back over his, his breath faster in Mark's ear as he pushes into him, sliding long and slow inside. Mark doesn't want to open his eyes, afraid he'll break the spell, the dreamy pleasure of Blake holding him close and fucking into him, whispering _mine, mine_ in his ear. Too fast, they both come, hands grasped too tight together, and then Blake is pulling away, out of the room and Mark's alone again.

***

Mark pretends, of course he can, for the cameras and when Blake's mom visits at the end of the month. Mark can smile and stand next to Blake, like the good franchise player and husband everyone thinks he is. Even when they're alone, Mark is pretending that it doesn't hollow him out on the inside to sit in the passenger seat of their car while Blake ignores him and drives. 

Blake is worse at pretending. Too often when he forgets that people are watching, he stands with a thunderous expression on his face, fists balled up at his sides. 

Except one day when they're doing a hospital visit with the team, someone hands Blake a newborn baby and his face clears, the sun breaking out with his smile. Mark watches Blake cradle the baby so gently, his big hands cupping the tiny body, staring down at the baby with wonder. At that moment, Mark feels every bit of tension and resolve melt out of him.

***

The next morning, Blake is sulking into a bowl of oatmeal when Mark walks into the kitchen. As soon as he sees Mark, Blake starts to get up, ready to make a quick getaway and avoid being in the same room as him like he’s been doing for weeks.

“Wait,” Mark says, reaching for Blake’s arm. 

“What,” Blake says. He shuffles away quickly, moving around to put the kitchen island between them, his hands gripping the back of one of the tall chairs. 

“I, uh,” Mark starts, ruffling his hand through his hair, “I think we should call the lawyer.”

Blake nods, resigned, and then coughs to cover the fact that tears are welling up in his eyes. “Yeah, I guess it’s time.”

“No, wait, I mean,” Mark huffs out a laugh, “I mean to talk about adoption.” Mark is looking at the ground, nervous, while he talks. “Maybe we can get an application going this summer. I know it can take a while to get approved so maybe if we get on a list this summer, by next summer-”

Blake slams into him with a hug, his arms around Mark and his laughter high in Mark’s ear. “Really? Babe, really? Are you sure?” Mark can hear that he’s crying but it sounds happy, and Blake is swaying them back and forth like they did on the dance floor at their wedding reception. 

“Yeah,” Mark smiles into the hair curling around Blake’s ears. His beautiful hair that always smells like apricots, soft as the day that he leaned in to kiss Mark on the cheek after their first date, his beautiful husband. “I want this for us. We’re ready.” 

Blake pulls back, his eyes shining as he smiles at Mark. “You know we’re still us, we don’t have to give up on everything we want just because-”

"I know,” Mark cuts off him. He thinks about hockey, about what his life used to be, what it is now, about how all of that will fall away eventually and in the end there will just be Blake. “But whatever happens, it’s okay because I want you most of all.”


End file.
